NCIS From Evidence to Arrest: Analyzing Murder Cases Step by Step

**Joe Kennedy**
Criminals deposit physical evidence at crime scenes, fingerprints, DNA, footprints, etc. But they also deposit their personality. Right, it's what they do. And so one of the things I'm always looking for at crime scene, and I preach this, the detectives I work with, is we're looking for the presence of the unusual, and the absence of the usual.

**Robert Riggs**

If you are a fan of the NCIS television drama, you are in for a treat.

Joe Kennedy, the homicide investigator you just heard, was a veteran agent for the real-life NCIS.

Hello, I’m Investigative Reporter Robert Riggs.

In this episode of True Crime Reporter, I lift up the crime scene tape for Joe Kennedy to take you inside the anatomy of murder cases.

This is the first of a two-part series.

**Robert Riggs**

Joe you were in NCIS. Tell our listeners, what does it do? And is it in any way similar to what we see on the television show?

**Robert Riggs**

We're going pause for just a moment. And when we come back, we'll pick up the conversation and talk more about victimology.

**Robert Riggs**

We're talking with Joe Kennedy, a longtime homicide investigator with NCIS, who did a lot more than homicide. He's written a book called solving cold cases, investigation techniques and protocol.

And this is what I tell everybody that does investigations is a as an investigator, you should doubt everything down at least the inquiry. inquiry leads to the truth. And if you have something in your gut that tells you something's not right, trust your gut.

**Robert Riggs**

In our next episode, Joe Kennedy will walk us through cold case investigations.

Kennedy started the first federal cold case unit at NCIS.

He will enlighten us with how Forensic Investigative Genetic genealogy produces new leads for cold cases thought to be unsolvable.

**Robert Riggs**

In closing, here’s my reporter’s recap and reflections.

Joe Kennedy’s parents taught him to treat all people with dignity and respect.

He did this with all of the criminals he encountered.

Kennedy’s unorthodox style of investigations paid off by getting confessions without using heavy-handed tactics.

You’ve been listening to the True Crime Reporter Podcast: Stay True. Stay Safe. And Stay Tuned for more stories from inside the crime scene tape.

This is Robert Riggs Reporting.